Vestcor Inc Cuts Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 23.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,586 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 2,862 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $2,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LNG. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,385 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 688 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,488 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 6,663 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG stock opened at $250.30 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $216.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.25. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $259.24.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LNG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $236.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $282.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $277.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.89.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long?term and short?term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.